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WhatsApp’s Top 5 Privacy in 2022

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WhatsApp’s Top 5 Privacy in 2022

Our self-imposed terms of service and privacy policy govern your use of our Services, and your disclosure of any data to us and our affiliated and related companies, including WhatsApp Inc.,” WhatsApp’s Top 5 Privacy Features. “To use our Services, you must agree to these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use our Services. If you are unable to agree to these Terms, then please do not use our Services.”

Unfortunately, though, there is a clause in the terms of service that exposes WhatsApp users’ personal information to its parent company Facebook. If WhatsApp goes bust, Facebook will be able to take over the company’s social network and data, giving Facebook a solid foothold in the chat market.
In a recent investigation, Gizmodo found that WhatsApp had changed the default encryption settings on its iOS and Android apps to “standard” levels without notification. While such a move may not mean the end for end-to-end encryption, it also means the end for the ability to break encryption through other means.

Starting With Privacy

According to Facebook’s privacy policy, it gathers information on Facebook users — their age, gender, location, etc. — but only with your consent. Facebook has this information to target advertisements, so it has to make sure it’s as accurate as possible. So even though some people may be wary of Facebook’s practices, there’s no guarantee that even if you’re only giving permission for Facebook to gather personal information, it won’t go any further in order to serve you ads. In the same way, you need to be aware of what you’re giving up when you decide to turn on WhatsApp’s location tracking feature.
Concerned about your WhatsApp data? Here are some things to keep in mind:
First, always read through the privacy policy before you agree to the Terms of Service.
Second, never enter your password or account details into an unsolicited email or text message.
And, third, consider using an encrypted messaging application instead. Even if WhatsApp is the end-to-end encryption champion, an unsolicited text message could expose you to many kinds of hacking, fraud, and more.
[Featured Image by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images]

This is an updated version of a story originally posted on June 3, 2016.

This article is written by Jeremy D. Jasser, a frequent contributor to VentureBeat. Jeremy is the co-founder and CEO of American Values, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building strong communities through civics education and policy. He is also the founder and president of Jasser and Associates, a Florida-based public affairs consulting firm. Prior to starting American Values, Jeremy served as Director of Policy and Government Affairs at the National Arab American Advisory Council.
Have a tip for us? Send it securely and anonymously at tips@venturebeat.com.
Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.
Tagged with: Facebook, privacy, messaging
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SEE ALSO: Facebook Now Ranks News Outlets Based On Trust — And Affects Where Ads Get Displayed
EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story indicated that the first hashtag in a message begins with # or #2. That has been changed to #.
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